Denwhere?

Denhere. Yep, I live in Denver and I'm proud of it. Damn proud of it.

Now I know there's been some gentle ribbing (mild heckling even?) about Denver. Some have called it Denwhere. Some have referred to Denver as "smelling like Frito's". Some have snickered, laughed, chuckled and maybe even guffawed at the 'cowtown' rep that Denver has.

And that's cool. We can handle it. Denver's a big kid now. In more ways than one.

Boulder came first, believe it or not!  Gold seekers established the first non-native settlement in Boulder County on October 17, 1858 at Red Rocks near the entrance to Boulder Canyon whereas Denver was established by a party of prospectors on November 22, 1858, after a gold discovery at the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River.

According to Google, Boulder had 293,161 as of July 2008 while Denver had a population of 598,707 for the same time period.  More people, bigger city, it stands to reason, right?

While Boulder has many good qualities (proximity to the Flatirons and lots of my good friends live there), let's face it, Denver is bigger. More room to spread out. More neighborhoods to choose from. More restaurants. More parks. More bars. Not to mention the Rockies, the Av's and the Nuggets. Boulder has? Oh wait! Nothing! No major sports teams. 

Denver has more schools. More concert venues. More great musical acts come to Denver than Boulder, hands down. Not to say there isn't great music in Boulder...there is....just nowhere near as much as Denver.

Then we have DIA. As in Denver International Airport. Located in Denver...not too far from KS. That's a joke. Not by much, tho. And Boulder has? Nothing. Nada. Zip. 

Just imagine if Denver didn't exist and all the techy types had to drive to their techy destinations. Or else drive to Colorado Springs to fly out of their airport (and you think Denver is bad??!!) Can you imagine the Twittering on their iPhone/Blackberry/Treo/Latest-new-gadget-that-came-out-5-minutes-ago of the horrors a drive to Colorado Springs would mean? Instead, a short bus/car ride from Boulder and you're in Denver, ready to go...as long as the Blue Stallion of Creepy Death doesn't fall over and kill you.

Hey, I'll be the first to admit. Boulder IS cool. It really is. It's small. Compact. You can get around by bus or bike or hoof it even. And I'd be lying if I didn't say I am very jealous at times of my buddies that live in Boulder. Taking a page from the First Commandment of Real Estate (Location, Location, Location) I'd have to say that Boulder's version of that would be 'Proximity, Proximity, Proximity'.  And that's a good thing. Like I said, jealous...party of one.

Still?

Even tho in the time it would take someone to leave their house in Boulder and be at a Boulder event lickety split, proximity isn't everything.

Maybe I'm nuts (and don't feel like you have to agree) but I love the sight of downtown Denver off to my left as I travel West on I-70. Like a Mile High version of Oz, it calls to me. So many good times I've had in Denver, so many more good times to be had. Sports. Bars. Improv groups. Friends. Fun. Lots of fun. That's what Denver is to me and so much more. 

Denver is my zip code. My address. My home. And I love Denver. I really do.

As for smelling like Frito's?  Come on! Are you Boulder hippies so high that you can't smell the stench that is the Purina factory?  I'll gladly take Frito's any day over that olfactory awfulness. 

Hey, just keeping it real.

*****

Facts and Figures from Google. Google is your friend. Speaking of friends, you can't find a better friend than Andrew Hyde. Even tho it may seem I am mocking Andrew (Denwhere?) Hyde, I am not. This was written semi- tongue-in-cheek with Andrew's full knowledge. We here at A Likely Story! adore Andrew and you should too. Even tho he does live in Boulder.  :-)

Comments

[Brett Borders]

Boulder is far from paradise... but I appreciate the fact I can either walk or ride my bike around town with ease... and I can go to an convenience store after 10 p.m. without fearing for my life.

[rosalicious]

I do like Boulder (despite the pretentiousness, overpriced housing, and complete and utter homogeneity) but I *LOVE* Fort Collins...those are the two towns that should be compared. Denver and Boulder? Two totally different places!

[emceesher]

i'm moving from Boulder to Denver in August; and i couldn't possibly be more excited. Boulder is a college town with an aging hippie infrastructure, plus a little hiking. The bars are overpopulated with morons who reek of cologne and underage girls with unconvincing fake IDs. looking at the oil refinery, Denver, and the mountains--in that order--driving on I-70 is one of my favorite views in the world, and i don't know why.

[Tara Anderson]

I like Boulder for some of the reasons you mentioned, but I really appreciate that Boulder is so close to Denver. When I get fed up with everyone looking the same (as they do in Bouldaire), I love that Denver and diversity is a quick drive away. Denver makes me feel like I'm in the big city and a bunch of my friends live there, so I have nothing but good things to say about it.

Thanks for sharing your viewpoint!